A post Sons of Anarchy Charlie Hunnam looked sharp in his Calvin Klein suit as the actor took in designer Italo Zucchelli’s menswear offering for the brand on Sunday. But if there was little in this show that Hunnam’s biker boss character would have related to, he was in the minority, as Zucchelli produced a modern and masculine collection that had an undercurrent of animal magnetism as well as some smart military rigor.
The dominantly tone-on-tone ensembles in shades of gray, black and navy used a cheetah pattern to give the rather classically contemporary sporty styles a bit of oomph. First it showed up on sports jackets and high waisted slim pants in a smaller speckled pattern, and then later on it reappeared in a more organic size on overcoats and blazers.
When Zucchelli wasn’t exploring the graphic power of feline spots, he was experimenting with the man-made slick seduction of vinyl. Its glossy composition manifested itself as pants and coats but most strikingly as cropped bomber jackets finished off with shearling collars.
For those who might find the vinyl vêtements a sartorial bridge too far, they should have no argument with the designer’s exquisitely beautiful and thoroughly modern Fair Isle sweaters; knitwear concoctions that used an intriguing Alpaca and nylon mesh quilted weave effect that felt wholly original in execution.
This collection once again confirmed that Zucchelli is one of the strongest menswear designers showing in Milan. His never ending exploration of high tech fabric developments and his ability to give sportswear a sense of sophistication continue to make him, after all these years, a designer still worth watching.
